Does my child have thrush?

aginal thrush can produce urinary symptoms (in addition to the typical soreness and itching in or around the vagina), but usually causes...

15/05/2014

Question

My daughter is three-and-a-half. For the past few weeks she has been going to the toilet more and more frequently.

She is completely out of nappies, at night as well, and has been for over a year.

At first I thought it might be a psychological issue as often she would go to the toilet several times in an hour and pass no urine.

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Recently, I took her to the GP who did a dip stick test which showed no problem.

We are now waiting for the result of an analysis of my daughter's urine although the GP thought that she looked well and it was unlikely that she was suffering from any infection.

She also suffers from sore spots or white blisters in her mouth on frequent occasions. I've also noticed that the area round her vagina and her anus is red.

Could she have thrush? And would this affect her urination?

I'm worried that we have delayed investigating this and it is now about two months since we noticed the symptoms.

Having read about UTIs I now realise we could have caused her lasting damage by not having this investigated earlier?

What is your view? My GP seemed very unconcerned, but I don't feel so relaxed!

Answer

Without being able to see your daughter I can't say whether she has thrush in her mouth or the vagina but your GP could probably tell just from examining her, and if there is any doubt, a swab from either the mouth or around the vagina should detect any fungal infection if it's present.

Vaginal thrush can produce urinary symptoms (in addition to the typical soreness and itching in or around the vagina), but usually causes discomfort on passing urine rather than the feeling of wanting to go to the toilet frequently.

I understand why you are worried that you delayed seeking medical help for your daughter's symptoms, but at least you are having the problem sorted out now, and there may be no untoward consequences of this delay if your daughter is found not to have a urine infection.

I'm afraid at this stage you can only wait for the result of the urine sample your GP has sent off for analysis.

If your daughter does have a urine infection I'm sure she will be given antibiotic treatment for this, and any further investigations that might be necessary can be organised by your doctor.

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If the urine sample shows no infection, and if your daughter is still feeling the need to pass urine frequently, your doctor will need to see her again to try and find out what is causing the problem to persist.

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